Before I address the pretty going on in this post, I have a few factoids/tips/comments to make, so bear with:

I missed the Bachelor this week. A) I know, I can’t believe I wanna watch this crap but, B) DON’T TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED.

RANDOM SERIOUS TIP: Brides, please don’t try to get *skinny* for your wedding day. Getting in shape is a noble goal, but skinny doesn’t look as good as you think it does in photos. In fact it’s the first thing I notice, and it makes me sad to see. Also, losing that little bit of extra weight between your final fitting and your wedding day can often mean a too large dress on a too thin body. Slightly disastrous, if you’re a stickler about your dress properly fitting your hot bod on your Big Day. Which I am. (Nerves can cause this, too, so do your best to stay calm – yeah right – during that interim period of time. We’ll call it “nuptial limbo.” Yeah, I like the ring of that.)

Ok, now that I’ve got that off my chest, let’s get to the good stuff…

We heart Lauren, *this much* (arms spread wide apart, depicting the largest amount of love possible). She’s two very wonderful things: incredibly caring and loving, and mindblowingly creative. Oh, I mean three things… she’s also, as you know, our DIY contributor. And we’re sooo lucky to have her here with us twice a month! But she’s got so much more to her, and I’d like to take this opportunity to give all of you a little peek into her wedding crafting world of wonders.

Wow, ladies! You sure know how to make a girl speechless. I…I just…I…see, speechless! Love all you guys so much. You’ve put a huge smile across my face and filled my heart up with love from all of this support. I appreciate it more than you all could know. Especially you Alison! Featuring my work here is the nicest compliment I could ask for. I am a lucky girl with great friends in an awesome industry! Ok, enough blubbering *tears*

To answer Carly’s question…how long does it take to make everything? Well that can depend. If you have to go out and buy everything than that can take longer. I have a good supply of crafty and vintage goodies around so it might be quicker for me than others. Also if you’re making stuff in bulk, you can get an assembly-line going to speed up the process.

The pom escort cards are pretty quick. Just stamping the manila tags and ruching up the fabric. The embroidered vintage postcards aren’t too bad. The embroidery takes a little time but still not that much (it’s just a simple backstitch). I made the four postcards that you see in the picture in an afternoon (I had all the supplies on hand). The bridesmaid’s hankies are easy but the time consuming part is treasuring hunting and finding the right vintage hankies and trinkets. The silhouette garland probably took me the longest just because it involves a lot of steps.

I love your blog, but please be more thoughtful of how you word things. Not every bride is “skinny” because of crash dieting or obsessing about being a skinny bride. Some are naturally, unchangeably thin, and will be in their wedding photos no matter what. Its a bit too broad of a statement to say you look at photos of skinny brides and notice their size first thing, and feel a little sad for them. Ouch.

Hi Lily – Thanks, I’m glad you enjoy the blog! And thank you for sharing, I appreciate your thoughts! You’re right – many of us are naturally thin and can’t add weight, even if we desire to do so. I’m actually more familiar with this concept than you may think. So this is true, and you make a great point! I guess the only thing I’d want to address is your closing statement. It saddens me that my statement would be interpreted as potentially hurtful when read by ladies on the thinner side, as the goal of tips like those is to encourage ladies to be content with themselves. I’ve known too many brides-to-be who obsessed over their weight, and it pained me to watch that. Of course, I appreciate your comment in its entirety – it’s important to have a discussion about such a serious topic that affects so many people! I hope you’ll continue to share your thoughts here, as these issues need to be brought out into the open much more often than they currently are.

I love those spools! What a wonderful idea. I instantly thought I am going to go home an unwind all my thread and make some but then I realized I would absolutely sew my finger to the ribbon trying to spell out a name. It would ruin the look so I’ll just come back here when I get home.

I like the discussion Lily and Alison. When I first read what Alison wrote, I interpreted it as being about girls who obsess about their weight and then try for a quick fix to “get skinny” for their wedding day. Eating healthy, getting exercise, and losing weight naturally are all very noble (just as Alison pointed out) but too often than not we want quick fixes (drop 20 pounds in 2 days!) that are unhealthy practices physically and emotionally. Ultimately it should always be a goal to be healthier, enriching our lives, and not just about making our butts look good in size 2 jeans. But I appreciated hearing how Lily interpreted it because that is a point-of-view I didn’t think of at first. There are girls who are naturally skinny and who are healthy. Love the discussion! Be healthy and appreciate who you are, no matter what size.

I love looking around for inspiration and everything she has put together is beautiful and very inspiring, I wish I had the time and patience to make them!

I love the idea of the hankies tied with different bits and bobs, a practicle favour, really lovelly. The pin board picture frame and of course the cotton reel place holders…..I lover it all. Thanks for sharing xXx